As I hang my head in shame and surrender my British passport, I confess: I’ve never seen Monty Python.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that as I made my way to the Empire theatre to watch Spamalot – a musical adaptation of the 1975 hit Monty Python and the Holy Grail – I feared I’d simply not get it. But regardless of how well you know and love the original, Eric Idle’s Spamalot is a glorious example of British comedy and I defy any audience member that doesn’t find it funny.

With a run that spans more than a decade, Spamalot tells the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on their quest to find the Holy Grail. As the motley crew gallop to Camelot, they run into a whole host of odd bods and, needless to say, mayhem ensues.

The first act kicks off with a group of fish slapping Finnish dancers followed by a corpse that refuses to die. In the second act, we meet the limbless Black Knight and a rabble of farting Frenchmen – both firm nods to original sketches (or so I’m told).

Owing to the absence of Joe Pasquale, King Arthur was played by Jamie Tyler who did not disappoint and played the role perfectly. His comical sidekick Patsy, played by Pasquale’s son Joe Tracini, did a fantastic job and won the audience’s hearts with his tale of unrequited love.

Although not integral to the narrative, my favourite part was the Lady of the Lake, played by Sarah Earnshaw, whose entire role was dedicated to mocking musicals.

Although delivered with a phenomenal vocal, A Song That Goes Like This pokes fun at the standard Andrew Lloyd-Webber duet: a cheesy musical formula that changes key multiple times, warbles on for far too long and always ends with a kiss.

The inclusion of original python Michael Palin, who was beamed into the theatre via video, was a definite highlight of the show – particularly as the Liverpool audience had voted to see him play the role of God.

I have just one grumble: is it impossible for a show to come to Liverpool without packing in a Beatles reference? Call me boring but when King Arthur spontaneously broke out into a rendition of Hey Jude, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Musicals are like marmite; some people are all for jazz hands and shows tunes, others would rather stick needles in their ears. But Spamalot is a musical that takes the mickey out of musicals and therein lies its genius; it’s the perfect mix of camp, silliness and satire with a unique ability to the make even the most cynical of cynics laugh out loud.

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